Semantic and lexical decision tasks were used to investigate the mechanisms underlying code-blend facilitation: the finding that hearing bimodal bilinguals comprehend signs in American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English words more quickly when they are presented together simultaneously than when each is presented alone. More robust facilitation effects were observed for semantic decision th...

The present work investigated presynaptic modulation of Ia afferents in the extensor carpi radialis (ECR) when young and old adults exerted a wrist extension force either to support an inertial load (position control) or to achieve an equivalent constant torque against a rigid restraint (force control) at 5, 10, and 15% of the maximal force. H reflexes were evoked in the ECR by stimulating the ...

In the numerical Stroop paradigm (NSP) participants compare simultaneously presented Arabic digits based on either their numerical or on their physical size dimension. Responses are faster when the numerical and size dimensions are congruent with each other (facilitation), and responses are slower when the numerical and size dimensions are incongruent with each other (interference). We aimed to...

Non-physical balance training has demonstrated to be efficient to improve postural control in young people. However, little is known about the potential to increase corticospinal excitability by mental simulation in lower leg muscles. Mental simulation of isolated, voluntary contractions of limb muscles increase corticospinal excitability but more automated tasks like walking seem to have no or...

REA CTI 0 N TIME AND A TTENTI 0N 23.1 To investigate critical factors for local inhibition and facilitation in visual-motor tasks, we randomized stimulus dimensions (location, color, and orientation) and response-stimulus interval across trials. The subject performed four different tasks'. Reaction times at the same location were longer, that is, "inhibition of return" (lOR) occurred, in the de...

Unilateral movements are mainly controlled by the contralateral hemisphere, even though the primary motor cortex ipsilateral (M1(ipsi)) to the moving body side can undergo task-related changes of activity as well. Here we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate whether representations of the wrist flexor (FCR) and extensor (ECR) in M1(ipsi) would be modulated when unilateral...

In humans, propriospinal neurons located at midcervical levels receive peripheral and corticospinal inputs and probably participate in the control of grip tasks, but their role in reaching movements, as observed in cats and primates, is still an open question. The effect of ulnar nerve stimulation on flexor carpi radialis (FCR) motor evoked potential (MEP) was tested during reaching tasks and t...

When we have learned a motor skill, such as cycling or ice-skating, we can rapidly generalize to novel tasks, such as motorcycling or rollerblading [1-8]. Such facilitation of learning could arise through two distinct mechanisms by which the motor system might adjust its control parameters. First, fast learning could simply be a consequence of the proximity of the original and final settings of...